You’ve decided to switch to the whole foods lifestyle. Great! But how do you know what to shop for? Just because you see the word “healthy”, does it truly mean it’s good for you? Before you load up that grocery cart, learn how to shop healthy for a whole foods diet.

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This Is How To Shop Healthy For A Whole Foods Diet

If you’re just learning about the whole foods lifestyle, it might seem a bit confusing. Most likely you’ll find there are foods you’ve had in the past that you thought were healthy, but now you can’t eat them anymore. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Lots of people have been in your shoes.

It’s downright hard to start this whole foods journey and then realize you have to adjust to a completely new way of eating. And it can be even harder when all this time you thought you were making healthy choices for yourself and your family only to realize that you weren’t.

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For example, you can go into almost any grocery store and find vegan frozen meals. Sure, these meals look healthy on the surface. Many times they promote vegetables and have all of the right “healthy” words on the packaging. What’s even more confusing is that these foods are in your local health food store. Which would make you think they are healthy products, right?

If you’re starting on your whole food journey, you don’t need all of that frustration. Instead, you just need to follow a few simple guidelines to determine if something is whole or not. Once you have these rules memorized you’ll easily be able to go through your grocery store and pick the foods that are truly healthy for your body.

Rule #1 – Organic Food

The first rule is to always buy organic. This can sometimes be a bit more expensive and is usually one of the hardest things for new whole food eaters to wrap their minds around. The reason is because we’re always taught that fruits and vegetables are good for us.

It’s only been in the last few decades that people started making a fuss about eating organic. But in truth, whatever cost you spend on organic food is well worth it in the long run.

When you’re not eating organic, you’re often exposing yourself to a variety of chemicals that are used to “beef up” and preserve those fruits and vegetables. Add that to the fact that you have no way of knowing exactly what has been done with non-organic food. Then eating organic becomes a whole lot more important.

Rule #2 – Grass Fed Meat

The second rule applies if you’re a meat eater. You want to be sure that you’re choosing grass fed meat. Like with organic foods, when you eat grass fed meat you’re eating meat that has to be treated a certain way. From humane treatment to the way they are fed, grass fed meat tends to have a better life and to be better for you.

Additionally, it’s important to remember that we are technically eating whatever our meat has eaten. So if your meat is not fed properly, it impacts your own health.

Rule #3 – Natural State Food

The third rule is to look for foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. While this doesn’t mean you have to forage through the woods, it does mean that you should be reading labels whenever possible. And you should be looking for foods from online sources like Primal Kitchen and Thrive Market, or foods approved by the Whole30 program.

Remember, even if you aren’t following a Whole30 program, Whole30 followers have strict rules about what they can and cannot eat. And if you ever have any questions on your whole food path, it’s better to err on the side of caution.

Free Whole Foods Diet Shopping List

To help make sure you follow the rules on how to shop healthy for a while foods diet, download this free Whole Foods Diet Shopping List. To ensure you achieve success on your whole foods journey, keep it on your fridge and refer to it when making your grocery list.

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It’ll Become Second Nature

Even though this whole foods journey may seem a bit confusing now, with a little time it will all start to become second nature. Yes, in the beginning you may feel like you’re spending a lot of time looking for the right recipes. And spending a lot of time finding the right supplies in the grocery store.

But over time you’ll have a “go to” list of things that will be easy for you to use. You learn how to shop healthy for a whole foods diet.

Don’t forget to get your free Whole Foods Diet Shopping List to help you stay on the right track on your whole foods journey.

Tell Me More

Want to learn more about eating healthy with the whole food lifestyle? Check out these related articles.

Before starting this or any diet, exercise or fitness program please consult your physician or other qualified health or medical professional to determine if it is right for your needs. This information is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice and supervision of your personal physician. Any application of this or any other exercise routine set forth in this program is at the viewer’s discretion and sole risk. Read full Disclaimer.

4 Comments on This Is How To Shop Healthy For A Whole Foods Diet

Loving this list. I love to go to the farmers market here. It’s so easy to find fresh, local, organic food. You can talk to the farmers about their methods too so you know you’re supporting farming pratices you believe in! 😊. But thank goodness for local health food stores too. They fill in any blanks. Makes following these kinds of guide lines so easy! Thanks for sharing ♡

I love that farmers markets are so much more common than they were even just 10 years ago. I’ve made special trips just to check out new ones further away from me. I was at Whole Foods recently and saw all the beautifully displayed fruits and vegetables and it reminded me of several articles I’ve read that talk about all the preservatives and products put on them so that they look that still look good after being transported in trucks over long distances. I know I can worry less about that when shopping at farmers markets.

Very good tips! Checking the label is very important, too. This is one of my weaknesses but I’m trying my best to learn. I’m starting with sugar content. I learned from a nutritionist friend that 4 grams of sugar is equal to 1 tsp of sugar. That way, it’s easier to imagine how much sugar is in there PER SERVING. If there are 2 servings per pack, then you’ll have to multiply the sugar (per serving) content by 2! Then I visualize it and usually, I go ‘eeww!’ LOL!

I love that! That’s a great way to describe it to my kids. For them 4g is just a number, but if they can mentally picture a tsp of sugar it’ll be easier for them to grasp how much sugar there really is in a serving size, like in a bowl of cereal.